Ben Venom‘s latest eyeball searing, Heavy Metal Quilt is on display at BAN6. (Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco) This impressive new piece is a staggering 13′ x 15′ and it is comprised of over 125 Heavy Metal t-shirts.

Venom’s latest quilt “See you on the other side” flanked by two of his denim vest designs.

Left: The opening night reception was packed! When we arrived at 10pm, there was a line of at least 300 people that snaked down the block. Right: some of the amazing artists in attendance (left to right) Derek Weisberg, John Casey, Lucien Shapiro, and Kevin E Taylor. Check out their work, yo!

Detail of “See you on the other side” / 13′ x15′ quilt made from over 125 Heavy Metal band T-shirts

The following photos are at Venom’s studio during the making of the quilt. The detail shots are taken during the construction. If you look closely enough, you can see the sewing pins … now consider that those pins are approx 1.5″ long and you can get a sense of the enormity of this quilt’s scale. I know how to sew and for the record, this quilt blows my mind.

Pins in the eyes:

Pins in the teeth:

Pins in the pyramid:

Take a look at how the shirts are cut, yet still preserved. His process is complicated.

Ben at work with his badass JukiF600. That’s right folks, don’t fuck with the Juki. (photo courtesy ofMy Love For You)

A little background to this man with a past.Venom’s work has long been rife with contradictions and he has been smashing opposing concepts together for a long time. Case in point, his recent body of work has been quilted textiles, often considered “women’s work,” yet they’ve been made with graphically aggressive (and highly masculine) Heavy Metal T-shirts. In other words, not your grandma’s sewing circle.

Am I Demon? / 41” x 51” / 2010

Don’t Wake Me Lucifer! / 83″ x 95″ / 2010

Previously, he has placed colorful graphic designs on tobacco dip cans and embroidered a disembodied sparrow. In all cases, I find Ben Venom’s work extraordinarily clever, exceedingly wry and highly unique.

Venom Dip Cans, 2010

Love Bites, / 7” x 9” / 2010 / Hand Embroidery, Thread, Aida Cloth

I would be remiss to not also admit, I just plain like Ben. He’s a damn fine gentleman and a loyal friend to those he cares for. I have been a fan ever since meeting him at the closing reception for Kevin E. Taylor’s 2010 solo show atEleanor Harwood Gallery in San Francisco. (I have previously featured Taylor’s work.) Mr. Venom, a true Southern Georgia gentleman, was manning the boiled peanuts pot he prepared for his pal “KT’s” show. Venom was quick to offer me a plastic baggy full of the soggy, salty gems and his infamous “Skull Poison” sticker. Accompanying the gifts was a crooked smile and a sarcastic wise-crack. Warm boiled peanuts, stickers and sharp witted humor? What’s not to love?

Mr Venom was kind enough to answer the five questions I ask everyone (plus a few more). A fantastic interview can be read at the heartfelt art blog My Love For You.

Venom Notes:

What artists or creative person has influenced you?Lari Pittman, Banks Violette, and Ozzy are big influences on my work. These are people that have pushed the boundaries in their given field for many years. Of course Ozzy is a little insane…HA! He is quoted as saying “Out of all the things I’ve lost…I miss my mind the most.”

Not including other artists or art, what inspires you?Reading…lately I’ve been reading a lot of Non-Fiction about the American South. I’m about to read Hells Angel: The Life and Times of Sonny Barger. I also listen to a lot of different Podcast about politics, current events, and of course Ted talks.

What is the part of your process you enjoy the most?I enjoy working with the materials and seeing my idea go through all the edits and mess ups and finally come out on the other side as a finished piece.

… the least? My least favorite part is always working towards the ever looming DEADLINE! Aaaarrrggghhh!

If you were NOT an artist, what would you be doing?I would probably run my own business. My mother owned her own engraving business when my sister and I were young and my father currently runs a Pest Control company in North Georgia. Apparently, I can take over the Pest Control company whenever I move back to Georgia…HA! Venom Pest Control…you see it, I’ll kill it!

Do you sell your work ? If so, how do people buy it?All the work will be for sale…YBCA is a non-profit and I am not sure how they are gonna handle sales. If someone is interested in a piece they can contact me directly.

I know a lot of people have cherished (but old) t-shirts stuffed in their drawers, I bet they’d look better hanging on their walls… do you take commissions? If so, how do people contact you?Yes, I recently made a quilt for Pirates Press Records owner Eric Mueller. The quilt was made from his old punk rock shirts and bands on his label. (custom quilt below)

People can contact me via email at ben@benvenom.com if they would like to discuss commissioned work.

17 Comments

This has got to be one of the most interesting quilts I’ve ever seen. It is truly a work of art. Now to go steal all my daughter’s band tee’s.

Talita

Posted July 10, 2011 at 9:36 AM

LOVE these! Amazing!

Kay L Ford-Sollimo

Posted August 11, 2011 at 6:23 PM

Just so you know, I’m a 71 year old quilter. What can I say? This knocks my socks off! The visual impact is fantastic. You obviously have an eye and way more imagination than most of us. Thank you for sharing.
Kay

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yes, my last name is Ransom

I co-create photos & films with Jason Mitchell. We are a creative team located in San Francisco working under the name Ransom & Mitchell.

I'm a set/prop creator, photo illustrator,
producer; Jason is a photographer, director & cinematographer. We work with beautiful people (inside & out) who prefer to be ugly (inside & out). We don't suffer fools or prima donnas. We like good coffee.

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Copyright Stacey Ransom. 2010 - present. All Rights Reserved. // This is an independent site dedicated to critical examination of the artists featured. Photographs/illustrations are copyright of their respective artists and are used with permission. Any images from sources other than the featured artists are used under commonly understood guidelines of Fair Use.